Before and after Christmas

I do not know what I would miss more, a seasonal concert before Christmas or the New Years concert on the 1^st of January. Whatever we manage it will have to do and this last season we missed a few good opportunities for such wonderful entertainment. Due to illness we had to miss the annual special concert of Via Salzburg. I heard it was awesome, as usual. The next opportunity to experience this extraordinary string orchestra is in February. I shall remind you in the next issue.

Male Choir Harfentoene
conducted by Alfred Shormann

We did not miss the Christmas concert of the Männerchor Harfentöne under the direction of Alfred Shormann, who after over 40 years conducted his last concert with the choir in December at the St. Patrick’s Church.

Honouring Alfred Shormann

He was thanked and honoured by his disciples and their president George Brennauer at the end of the Christmas concert and treated to a standing ovation in gratitude of his long and loyal service to his choir and our community. All good things come to an end, but the memories this group of men forged for themselves and others together will not be forgotten.

At the concert there always is a guest choir and this year, as many times before, it was the Edelweiss Chor, this time conducted by Linda Marcinkus, long-time piano accompanist to the Harfentöne.

Edelweiss Choir under Linda Marcinkus

It was truly amazing what she managed to make of this choir in such short order. The choir never sang better and Gretl Schauer’s solo in "Wenn ich ein Glöckchen wär" was superb. President Helmut Gschoesser announced each segment that was presented intermittently to the offerings of the male choir (Männerchor).

We could enjoy all the old favorites and a few seldom heard choices too. From "Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe" and „Leise rieselt der Scnee" to "Am Weihnachtsbaume die Lichter brennen", everything was covered, including the inclusion of the audience in communal jubilation of a few favourites like "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht". It would not have been a Christmas concert without these songs of old sung by a mighty male choir.

Applause for a great conductor & voices

There is something special about the sound of voices rising in a church for such an occasion, when the singing does not occur for the glory of man but for the glory of God. The subsequent coffee and Stollen in the hall next door furthermore underlines what brings our community together in good cheer.

Sylvester Hansa Club Style

There is a multitude of choices for a New Year’s Eve event. In the past we have gone to the Operetta or the opera for traditional light musical fair with reception afterwards. We have celebrated with friends in their or our home, we have gone to a city outdoor venue and celebrated among hundreds or thousands and we have frequented a local German Club. It is interesting how birds of a feather flock together at such a time. Lately we have celebrated at the Hansa Club. The familiar venue is easy to get to, has a nice hall and a pretty upstairs space with a cozy bar, when the noise is too much downstairs.

Meeting with guests and having an early glass of champagne is a ritual not to be missed, to pass the time after dinner till the balloons drop after the countdown.

Up there it was Peter Henkel entertaining with his accordion and invisible percussion section, all modern with computer and so on. What a fine musician he is and he can sing up a storm too!

Dancing to the Romeros

Downstairs the Romeros traveled all the way from Kitchener to delight with all the familiar tunes that everyone loves to dance to. You should have seen us oldies when they played Rock and Swing. Most of us forgot that we were of an advanced age and uncertain summers, perhaps falls or even winters. And speaking of Kitchener: Guests arrived from all over the place not just from immediate surroundings. We spotted Helga Kessel (Secretary of the German Canadian Congress Ontario) and her husband Willie as well as other "strangers".

In good company

This year’s dinner was again family style and ample enough for more than the people sitting at the table. A fabulous Cesar salad started us and was followed by roulades and pork roast with all the trimmings. A fantastic lemon torte with tea or coffee ended the wine accompanied feast (red and white from Colio Wineries). After the obligatory champagne toast at the stroke of midnight platters of sandwiches with hearty toppings were served, just the right thing to get everyone sober enough to drive home.

...3...2...1...Happy New Year

I can only imagine what it took in money (The band alone costs $3000.00) and effort to decorate the hall so festively and prepare everything including those hundreds of sandwiches for a full house. The volunteers must have fallen dead into their beds, as probably the rest of the staff did too. Hopefully they were as happy about this successful celebration as the rest of us, who said: "Happy New Year" with much gladness in our hearts…and as we are saying now to all of you:

"Happy New Year, and thank you for being our loyal readers and partners in supporting our community."

Sybille Forster-Rentmeister for the entire Echo Germanica team